What's a difference between deaf and hard-of-hearing?

My friends dont call me Hearing Impaired, They say I am Hearing Challenged...lol

I myself can hear with the use of HA but without them someone has to actually YELL into my ear for me to hear them, so I am what I suppose is Legally Deaf without them, and as I type now I cannot hear anything as my HA are at the audiologist to have some repair work done, and I am really getting sick of them since they are always messing up. Dont get me wrong, they are great HA's but they are being pushed to their limits at maximum volume for me to barely hear anything. Wont be long before they will be useless to me as all the others were at one point in time. As my audiologist said.. CI may be the last resort for me.
Even though I am HOH, I feel I am more classified as Deaf, only the use of HA's make the difference in the classifications I suppose?
 
1 person is deaf and wears HA.

Other person is deaf and does not use HA. Ok, fine. Life goes on. Labels are for reading nutrition informations on food jars, not our hearing or lack of it.
 
Whatever label doesn't change the underlying condition. How ones deal with that fact is YOUR CHOICE.
 
This subject is interesting to me because I am hearing but my son is not. So it's all relatively new to me, and I'm forever worried about using the wrong word or capitalizing the wrong thing. One of the first things that came up when I started my job at CHS was to read the communication style guide, which describes (among other things) how we refer to our clients: "culturally Deaf, oral deaf, late-deafened, and hard of hearing." Or in less formal situations, shortened to "Deaf or hard of hearing." I was grateful to have it written down so I don't have to fret over which term to use.

For my son, when I'm talking to people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, I'll say he's hard of hearing, as he wears aids, and hears and speaks pretty well with them on (he also knows ASL). But if I'm talking to hearing people, I'll say he's Deaf, because they understand that more, and ask fewer annoying questions (he'll grow out of that, right? does he have an ear infection? my cousin's daughter had to get tubes in her ears when she was a baby, have you tried that?). They seem to "get it" more if I say "deaf."

Now he's started self-identifying as Deaf though. We've had issues with his swimming classes (don't get me started) and when we were talking about it, he said "You have to tell them that I'm deaf, and teach them sign language." So I guess I'll start calling him deaf now whenever it comes up, since that is what he has chosen.
 
I think it depends on the individual and how you identify yourself. My brother is technically HOH as he has mild hearing loss. He identifies with himself as HOH. He can hear really well with his hearing aids. My brother says he is deaf. He has not been able to hear since he was three. I say I'm deaf, because if I were to actually use my HAs, I would only pick up on VERY loud noises and the HAs giving me a headache. So, I like to say I'm deaf. I'm enriched in the deaf culture and chose to identify myself as that. My brother chooses HOH because while he cannot hear very well with HAs, he knows he is not "deaf" in the manner we are...I guess.

Don't let anyone label you. You are who you are. :)
 
jbeer said:
For my son, when I'm talking to people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, I'll say he's hard of hearing, as he wears aids, and hears and speaks pretty well with them on (he also knows ASL).
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I fell into that category too. I wear hearing aids and do well with them but when they break or the battery dies and I have none on me, I hear zip. Ironically hearing people call me hard of hearing, deaf people call me deaf. I don't care for the labels myself so I just tell people, with the hearing aids I'm hearing impaired, without them, I'm deaf. Never had issues.

Laura
 
Wirelessly posted

Hohtopics said:
As for having to choose between "deaf" or "hard of hearing", it's not as simple as it sounds.

Cause I've seen some of the deaf, particularly the culturally deaf or "D"eaf, call those who may have some oral, auditory + lipreading skills, that wears hearing aids or a ci and took the mainstreaming route "hard of hearing", While technically speaking many of them really aren't as far as their hearing loss is concerned.
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That is probably because although they are physically deaf, they identify more as hearing. When I first met people in the Deaf community, they immediately identified me as hard-of-hearing because I was oral and didn't know sign. Now I'm with a different group, brand new friends, and they identify me now as Deaf, because I sign and am voice-off. Some of them sign with Deafies and are oral with Hearies and even with the interpreters. So how you identify yourself is more important in the Deaf community than your level of deafness.
 
Well, I asked my son about this on the weekend (he's 5 3/4) because previously he had self-identified as "deaf" but I just got a book called "The Parenting Journey: Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children" and he saw if and said "you should read that, because I'm hard of hearing." So I asked him, sometimes you call yourself hard of hearing, sometimes you call yourself deaf. Which do you prefer? How do you like to describe yourself?

Well, he identifies as someone with rainbow-coloured glow-in-the-dark earmolds. Now I know :)
 
I believe that hard-of-hearing means that you don't hear well but can hear better with a hearing aid as long as you understand voices and sounds. Deaf people who wear a HA don't usually understand voices and sounds so they are not able to use voice phones. In other words, most of HOH people don't need captions to watch videos when they wear a HA or turn up the volume on TV or computer. For example, old people with hearing loss due to age are hard-of-hearing so they wear a HA to AID their HEARING. As for ASL, that's their choice. I don't see a need for them to learn ASL if they can hear (w/ a HA, of course) and speak verbally.
 
I wear hearing aids and cope very well but I always call myself deaf as I am profoundly deaf and I can't hear a thing without my HAs and I still need to lipread (with hearing people) and sign (with deaf friends).
 
CrazyPaul said:
I believe that hard-of-hearing means that you don't hear well but can hear better with a hearing aid as long as you understand voices and sounds. Deaf people who wear a HA don't usually understand voices and sounds so they are not able to use voice phones. In other words, most of HOH people don't need captions to watch videos when they wear a HA or turn up the volume on TV or computer. For example, old people with hearing loss due to age are hard-of-hearing so they wear a HA to AID their HEARING. As for ASL, that's their choice. I don't see a need for them to learn ASL if they can hear (w/ a HA, of course) and speak verbally.
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This is how I think of it. My grandfather does not hear well, we have to face him and speak loudly for him to hear us. He doesn't use HAs or know any sign at all. I think his hearing loss is because of his age (81). To me, he's HOH because he can hear even though it's not very well.
 
Liebling:-))) said:
I know from my most hard of hearing friends.

Hard of hearings = you can hear well and can phone but you can hear only one person, not 2nd person... You get confused when 2 persons speak you on the same time. Talk to one person is okay or hear one sound - not 2nd sounds... Interesting...
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I disagree with this! just because a HOH person can hear on the phone does not mean they'll understand everything being said to them. I find it very hard to understand on the phone . I can not hear well, my HA help me to hear . I can not talk on the phone if I am not wearing my HA. HOH does not mean you can hear well, it mean you have a hard time hearing.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I disagree with this! just because a HOH person can hear on the phone does not mean they'll understand everything being said to them. I find it very hard to understand on the phone . I can not hear well, my HA help me to hear . I can not talk on the phone if I am not wearing my HA. HOH does not mean you can hear well, it mean you have a hard time hearing.
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Yeah bit of an oxymoron there huh? Hard of hearing means you hear well.......huh say what? Just let that thought roll around in your brain for a second lol. Just a bad choice of words. He must have meant hear well enough with hearing aids to talk on the phone?
I don't think I'd actually want to define it that distinctly. I mean is there really some definitive line in between being hard of hearing and being deaf? Is it just based on speech discrimination? I think it also depends on the individual. Personally I use use both terms, I may tell someone I'm really hard of hearing (I always used the really) or I may say I'm deaf. Meh you say tomato I say tomahto ;)
 
The labels seem arbitrary to me.
According to the audiology, I have profound hearing loss.
But I speak quite well (I have progressive hearing loss).
Hearing people find it hard to communicate with me because I can't f*cking hear even with hearing aids. Haring people refer to me as "that deaf girl".
Deaf (big D Deaf) people label me as "that hearing girl" despite the fact that I have known ASL since I was a kid.

If you looked at an audiogram, my hearing might be worse than many Deaf people but I had the benefit of useable hearing when I was learning language and had progressive loss after learning language.

Can we just get rid of labels?
I am getting tired of being in a netherworld. I just barely survive in the hearing world and the Deaf world won't accept me because I am "too much like hearing" despite being fluent in ASL and more comfortable using sign.

Labels benefit the person who gets to make the labels, not the person who is labeled.
 
jbeer said:
Well, I asked my son about this on the weekend (he's 5 3/4) because previously he had self-identified as "deaf" but I just got a book called "The Parenting Journey: Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children" and he saw if and said "you should read that, because I'm hard of hearing." So I asked him, sometimes you call yourself hard of hearing, sometimes you call yourself deaf. Which do you prefer? How do you like to describe yourself?

Well, he identifies as someone with rainbow-coloured glow-in-the-dark earmolds. Now I know :)
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That is an amazing description. We are who we are not what someone says we are.
Give your kiddo a high 5 for me.
 
ecp said:
Can we just get rid of labels?
I am getting tired of being in a netherworld. I just barely survive in the hearing world and the Deaf world won't accept me because I am "too much like hearing" despite being fluent in ASL and more comfortable using sign.
Labels benefit the person who gets to make the labels, not the person who is labeled.
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:hmm: It doesn't make sense.
 
CrazyPaul said:
:hmm: It doesn't make sense.
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Are you agreeing or being sarcastic? Sorry, I'm terrible at the whole Internet nuance stuff. :hmm:
I'm assuming you agree that it doesn't make sense.
(This is sarcasm)Maybe I should just find some new and more welcoming Deaf people BUT WAIT there aren't as many Deaf people as hearing people and unless I travel hours and hours I am stuck. (End sarcasm) stuck.

(If this makes no sense please forgive me. I've had 3 glasses of wine and a terrible day. I'm going to go crawl into bed with my fiancé :cuddle: and the cat (who is currently taking up my half of the bed) and forget about today.)

Much love,
ECP
 
ecp said:
The labels seem arbitrary to me.
According to the audiology, I have profound hearing loss.
But I speak quite well (I have progressive hearing loss).
Hearing people find it hard to communicate with me because I can't f*cking hear even with hearing aids. Haring people refer to me as "that deaf girl".
Deaf (big D Deaf) people label me as "that hearing girl" despite the fact that I have known ASL since I was a kid.

If you looked at an audiogram, my hearing might be worse than many Deaf people but I had the benefit of useable hearing when I was learning language and had progressive loss after learning language.

Can we just get rid of labels?
I am getting tired of being in a netherworld. I just barely survive in the hearing world and the Deaf world won't accept me because I am "too much like hearing" despite being fluent in ASL and more comfortable using sign.

Labels benefit the person who gets to make the labels, not the person who is labeled.
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What did you do in the Deaf Community or Deaf event when you sign with Deaf people there? Did you talk loudly while signing which you were suppose to use voice off? Why did the Deaf signers reject you, not because you were too much like hearing? The Hard of Hearing (HOH) are accepted into the Deaf Community or going to the Deaf event as long as you use ASL. They should not have reject you if you sign. Or maybe you were signing SEE or PSE which could be indicated that they don't want you to sign SEE just ASL.

I am as much in puzzling as CrazyPaul, too. It does not make sense. So can you clarify what happened that make you not be a member of the Deaf community or going to the Deaf events. :hmm:
 
ecp said:
The labels seem arbitrary to me.
According to the audiology, I have profound hearing loss.
But I speak quite well (I have progressive hearing loss).
Hearing people find it hard to communicate with me because I can't f*cking hear even with hearing aids. Haring people refer to me as "that deaf girl".
Deaf (big D Deaf) people label me as "that hearing girl" despite the fact that I have known ASL since I was a kid.

If you looked at an audiogram, my hearing might be worse than many Deaf people but I had the benefit of useable hearing when I was learning language and had progressive loss after learning language.

Can we just get rid of labels?
I am getting tired of being in a netherworld. I just barely survive in the hearing world and the Deaf world won't accept me because I am "too much like hearing" despite being fluent in ASL and more comfortable using sign.

Labels benefit the person who gets to make the labels, not the person who is labeled.
Click to expand...

Labels belong on Jars, NOT people! I would love to get bumper sticker that said this. Or one that said 'Put Labels on Jars NOT People!'
 
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